[mscott58]

155 sold after about 12 hours!

 

[159650]

Lot slower than I expected. There were a 1000 requests for this drop. Where are the remaining 850 people? lol

 

[mscott58]

  Lot slower than I expected. There were a 1000 requests for this drop. Where are the remaining 850 people? lol

IME there's always a bum rush to start and then it settles down into a slower burn as people contemplate taking action and read more on boards like this. Always easier to spend theoretical money via a request than real hard-earned cash! Cheers 

 

[Thad-E-Ginathom]

Question (hope it hasn't been answered already!)...
 
Do I read correctly that thing is USB Audio Class 2 Compliant, meaning that , among other things, it will work with Linux?
 
And a general comment, to do with this: maybe a rider like "We can't try every possible Linux ditro, that would be impossible," would be fine, but when, please, will all the manufacturers realise that there is more to computing life than MS and Apple! Apologies if already covered and I missed it --- but I did take a quick look through the manual.

 

[ezekiel77]

Hi guys, happy user of the Centrance M8. Would anyone be able to tell me whether this is an upgrade or sidegrade in terms of sound and soundstage? Will be running my HE-400i and LCD-X from it.

 

[project86]

  I have a question concerning the power input vs the usb input. It states for high power mode you would need to connect power in to both usb slots... would this not disable the playback of files above 24/96 resolution?
 
That being said, would the single power input (low power mode) be able to power higher impedance headphones? I am particularly interested in any thoughts regarding synergy with sennheiser hd700?
 
Any responses are greatly appreciated. I am interested as hell, but the issues regarding power concerns me. 

 
 
High power mode draws power from the adapter which if I recall correctly puts out 2 Amps, while the standard USB bus connection can only give 500 mA. That equates to .5A.... so you can see why the high power mode equates to more current and voltage. 
 
Either way, the USB data connection carries the signal. It doesn't matter which mode is used, the device can still go up to 24/192 as well as DSD128. 
 
Low power mode should be reasonably good with HD700. It might be one of those headphones which straddles the edge between low and high power modes. Unfortunately I don't have one here for testing. 
 
 
 

These are both Planars, correct? So that means this unit should drive the ZMF x Vibro's without difficulty?

Thank you,
pat----

 
Definitely in high power mode, but I personally don't love planars with low power mode. Maybe some work well enough but my LCD-2 seems a bit starved for juice. 
 

  Question (hope it hasn't been answered already!)...
 
Do I read correctly that thing is USB Audio Class 2 Compliant, meaning that , among other things, it will work with Linux?
 
And a general comment, to do with this: maybe a rider like "We can't try every possible Linux ditro, that would be impossible," would be fine, but when, please, will all the manufacturers realise that there is more to computing life than MS and Apple! Apologies if already covered and I missed it --- but I did take a quick look through the manual.

 
I intend to try the m9XX with a few Linux machines - BMC PureMedia, Aurender X100L, and SOtM sMS-1000SQ, which all run different builds. Will report back when I have more info. 

 

[Netforce]

These are both Planars, correct? So that means this unit should drive the ZMF x Vibro's without difficulty?

Thank you,
pat----

Yup both were planars. Like project86 said, running in high power mode should drive the ZMF just fine. Another friend brought an Omni but I don't remember if we hooked it up to the m9xx.
 
Didn't listen on low power mode so not sure how well it would drive planars but I can imagine not well as planars love power.

 

[Allanmarcus]

  Hi guys, happy user of the Centrance M8. Would anyone be able to tell me whether this is an upgrade or sidegrade in terms of sound and soundstage? Will be running my HE-400i and LCD-X from it.

Based soley on company reputation, CEntrace makes one of the best DAC implementations in the business. Other companies license CEntrace DACs. The DACMini CS is  stereophile class A rated, which is really hard to get.

 

[Allanmarcus]

Man o'man! Do I jump on this now or wait and grab one from the classifieds in a few weeks?

Based ont he used price of the the AKG massdrop headphones, my guess is that the price on the used market will not dip too fast. That said, at worst you will pay $499 for a slightly used, er broken in, one.

 

[audiorrorist]

Nice, simple design, and compact.

 

[mohdkhamsya]

Great. And I just got my uber stack! So does anyone know how much better this is compared to the uber stack? Also can I use it as a pre amp for my active speakers? 

 

[Allanmarcus]

  Great. And I just got my uber stack! So does anyone know how much better this is compared to the uber stack? Also can I use it as a pre amp for my active speakers? 

Yes, it can be used as a preamp. The manual is linked on the MassDrop page.
 
As for "better", only you will be able to tell that, but chances are any difference will be very slight.

 

[mbgrace]

  Question (hope it hasn't been answered already!)...
 
Do I read correctly that thing is USB Audio Class 2 Compliant, meaning that , among other things, it will work with Linux?
 
And a general comment, to do with this: maybe a rider like "We can't try every possible Linux ditro, that would be impossible," would be fine, but when, please, will all the manufacturers realise that there is more to computing life than MS and Apple! Apologies if already covered and I missed it --- but I did take a quick look through the manual.

We tested the m9XX with Ubuntu 12.04 today and it worked perfectly.
This is the only "modern" linux box we have in the shop right now.  We will report any other distributions that we can verify work with the m9XX
-Michael

 

[windwolf447]

Am I asking too much for it to compare with the Chord Hugo? My desk in my room only has a small space for a dac, I like the dac part of hugo but the headphone amp part sounds a bit too powerful for my IEM. I see that the m9xx has a low gain output. Sounds nice but I wonder hows the dac SQ compare to the hugo.

 

[moedawg140]

   
Thanks Moe, kinda of feel the sound of m9xx based on your description. Have always wanted the Grace 920 but the analytical SQ  by many had me hold back a little. Maybe now is the time.. Too many new product this year. I am happy to know I will be very broke soon...

 
Way too many products this year.  I'm listening to the m9XX right now with a pre-production (production) evolutionary IEM that sounds...
 

  If I'm only going to be listening to K553s or K7XXs with these from my laptop at work is this overkill?
 
And I'm still unclear if I can use my iPhone 6 as a source with this.

 
I personally do not think the m9XX is overkill for anything.  Even more sensitive headphones sound great on the m9XX, as the volume (even on High Power mode) elevates slowly/slightly as the volume number increases.  
 
The iPhone 6 can be used as a source with the m9XX if you use this: http://www.amazon.com/Cute-USB-2-Port-Splitter-Black/dp/B00FJG5T4W/ref=lp_7583942011_1_1?srs=7583942011&ie=UTF8&qid=1445921860&sr=8-1 (@HiFiGuy528 posted this as a solution earlier in the thread).  Mine (I chose Black) will be here in 2 days.  Reflected in my review.
 

As I use a Linux OS on my computers, I asked for confirmation that the M9XX would be compatible without the need for special drivers. I did receive a rapid response to my question, and yes, it is plug-and-play compatible, confirmed by testing with a Ubuntu box. Soon my computer will have a new playmate!

 
I have been listening to the m9XX optically via Questyle Audio QP1R, and the QP1R technically runs a custom version of Linux - all is working, and sounds absolutely fantastic.
 

  Heard the Grace m9xx recently at a local event with moedawg. From just my phone and little battery the m9xx just sounded absolutely wonderful. Had my he500 plugged in along with moe's he1000 and both got to quite high volume which was super neato. The m9xx is without a doubt an excellent value at $499, shame for me that school is tad pricey otherwise I wouldn't mind getting the m9xx this drop.
 
Got the o2 at home and have had it for a year and if you are on the fence between the o2 or the grace I would definitely recommend spending the extra cash to get the grace! 

 
Your Japanese music was blissful with everything that was connected to the m9XX that event (The Source A/V meet).  Makes me want to listen to some Utada Hikaru right now!
 

These are both Planars, correct? So that means this unit should drive the ZMF x Vibro's without difficulty?

Thank you,
pat----

 
The HE500 and HE1000 are planers.  The m9XX shouldn't have any issues driving the ZMF x Vibro.  I remember listening to the ZMF Omni with my QP1R, and the QP1R powered the Omni with sufficient power, and the m9XX outputs more power than the QP1R (over 8dB difference via HE1000, Sound Level Analyzer and pink noise file).
 

  Yup both were planars. Like project86 said, running in high power mode should drive the ZMF just fine. Another friend brought an Omni but I don't remember if we hooked it up to the m9xx.
 
Didn't listen on low power mode so not sure how well it would drive planars but I can imagine not well as planars love power.

 
I saw the Omni but we didn't have it hooked up to the m9XX.  If so, I would have made sure to take a listen for sure!
 
I listened to Low Power mode with my HE1000 right now, and it can get pretty loud around the 80's, but a little bit louder it gets into the 90's and that's when you experience "OC".  Running the HE1000 at High Power mode gives it ample headroom for transients and can reach full power with no "OC" at "99.".